The difficulty people are having in getting permission to build one-off houses, even on family land, was raised by Deputy Erin McGreehan in the Dáil recently. She said it was a crucial issue in County Louth.
Querying the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, Deputy McGreehan said she was dealing with “an incredible number of people” struggling to get planning permission to build their own houses.
“Often I think they are being demonised for asking, or having the audacity to want to build on their own land and create for themselves in their own communities.”
She made the point that couples who grow up in an area expect to be able to send their children to nearby primary or secondary schools. “Quite often they are not allowed to do so, and are made to move to places with which they have no connection.”
Deputy McGreehan said that the Taoiseach has made commitments in relation to the building of one-off houses.
“We cannot allow the future of so many young couples to be halted. I know of families living in caravans while they await planning permission. This is a crucial issue, particularly in County Louth, where we have a large number of people being denied planning permission.”
In reply, the Taoiseach said he fully accepted what Deputy McGreehan was saying. The existing rural housing guidelines date back to 2005, and “the existing national planning framework fully supports the sustainable development of rural areas.”
Updated rural housing guidelines are being prepared by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The government was looking at making changes, making it more amenable to putting more planning permissions through.
The Taoiseach added: “I do want to say that approximately 6,000 one-off houses on average get planning permission each year. We all know of cases involving people wanting to build on their own land. One-off houses comprise 20% of housing completions in Ireland in the last five years. These are interesting figures despite all the commentary.”
But he added that giving the housing crisis the country is in, the guidelines have to be reviewed with a view to enabling elements, such as cost, to be factored in.
Prior to the recent election, Mr Martin said that the Fianna Fáil view was that if someone was the son or daughter of a farmer they should be entitled to build on their own land. The aim was to make sure the guidelines reflect that.
“Advancements in technology would help in the selection of sites, so that they stay within the environmental impact thresholds,” he said.
For further information, reach out to Erin McGreehan.
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